Walking into Bocadillos, a trendy bakery-restaurant conveniently situated on the corner of 6th Avenue and Main Road Walmer, my senses were greeted by a colourful assortment of cakes and pastries that were on display.

The aroma of freshly-baked artisan breads was so irresistible that I had to stop by the display for a few minutes. Baked daily using the finest stone-ground flour and without preservatives, the artisan breads are also supplied to several shops around the Bay - ciabatta, rye bread and bagels being among the most popular.

As I was already starving, I was happy when one of their friendly waiters escorted me to my table and promptly took my drinks order. While I enjoyed my coffee, and waited for my work colleague to arrive, I began to appreciate Bocadillos and its interesting interior design.

The shop, with its high ceilings and wooden floors, is quite spacious and can seat up to 100 people. There is a large main dining room which joins into a smaller side-room that leads out to their newly converted courtyard, which boasts a form tent cover making this a perfect area for functions but also providing shelter from adverse weather conditions.

Bocadillos is stylishly decorated and tastefully-furnished with Persian carpets, chandeliers, modern mirrors and comfy chairs and couches. When my colleague arrived, we decided to sit outside in the courtyard. Although it was raining, we could relax comfortably under the courtyard free-form tent.

Still, it is Bocadillos’ breakfast, lunch and dinner menus that I found the most remarkable. On offer are their famous pizza’s, takeaways, gourmet breakfasts, salads, sandwiches, French patisserie, sandwiches, pastas and vegetarian dishes which are prepared from fresh ingredients.

Spoilt for choice, we decided to attack the cake and pastry display. We ordered their flaky, puffed pork-sausage rolls, fillet and mushroom pies, moist cheese-cake brownies, red-velvet cupcakes and a perfect pecan-nut pie slice which was served with vanilla ice cream.

As we tucked in, I learnt that Bocadillos had been taken over by Abel Esterhuysen a few months back. He has continued their great tradition of fine food and friendly hospitality.

I really enjoyed our lunch at Bocadillos. The food was delicious, flavoursome and filling. I will be using their catering services for a birthday party soon.

With summer fast approaching, I was also informed that Bocadillos will, as of this month, launch a new menu with a long list of new treats to choose from. Exciting indeed!

Bacadillos is open on Mondays to Saturdays from 07h30-22h30, closed on Sundays, and also includes exciting specials such as half price Pizza on Mondays and live music on Thursdays. The shop is wheelchair-friendly, offers an outside smoking area and ample safe parking. For added convenience, they now offer free Wi-Fi internet access.